Emulsion treating methods and means



gwwm kw Clarence 0. G/asgow oo oooo 2 SHEETSSHEET l aim/"W June 3, 1952 c. o. GLASGOW EMULSION TREATING METHODS AND MEANS Filed May 1, 1948 2 3% Z .1. /[/J A IN a H p 1 c 8 I/ wJ a Z 0 7 00 no 5 w v X09 U n J M A Q 4 MN v 2 F :fi 8 8 u y 5 a w June 3, 1952 c. o. GLASGOW EMULSION TREATING METHODS AND MEANS 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed May 1, 1948 Clarence O.- Glasgow abbomwo Patented June 3, 1952 EMULSIQN-.-TREATING MEANS .nnireqr ere Clarence 0. Glasgow, Tulsa, Okla., assignor. to. National "Tank Company, Tulsa; Okla:; ag corporation oil-Nevada APPFWliQWMW-Ja 1948* fi ill N2:- .415 1.

This inve ntion relatestonew and useful im- 12 Claims 01. 1 3;;-

mjovenients "int emulsion treating methods arm;

"Itflhas been founddifiicult in many instances toftreat" effectively; certain types 'of crude peg troleum's, especially those which are relatively,

impaired, and the washing steps important to,

adequate emulsion treating are rendered quite difiicult to effect to the desired degree.

The j, present invention overcomes these, problems to a, large extent by heating the heavy emulsionstream as afirst step so that the viscosity, of the petroleum is lowered before any further treatment is applied, This sameinitial heating. step" also frees. large portions of cohtainedi gas from the emulsion stream, both by the. raising of thestream'temperature and by the reduction of its. viscosity. In this manner, this novel treatingmethod and means achieves,

with. a minimum of equipment, efiieient and thoroughly satisfactory treating of heavy pe troleum emulsions. In previousfmethods, excels sively expensive and voluminousequipment has beenrequired for the treating of these heavy oils. While slightly greaterpercentages of ,gas.

are driven off in theicarrying out of this method and. in the. initial steps thereof, it is usually the case that such quantities offgas will even; tually. be. required; in, any fevnt, to. obtain; the degree, of. heating f neo'essa'ryv Iforjpropfer treating of. the: emulsion. Thus, the invention attains an additional beneficial result in providing gas in quantities sufficient to meet itsown heating requirements. This featureis especially important in handling crude petroleums having low gas-oil ratios, Ithas often been necessary in the past topurchase gas from outside'sour'ces for fuel purposes in treating such a crude petroleum. This method is s n-sustai ng in'that" it provides adequate quantities of gas for i'ts' own need; it being kept in mind that any excessive quantities of gas, so produced are readily marketable'and do not representfan economic or conservation loss.

Another object and beneficial result of this inven'tion is, the provision of an emulsion treating method and means whereih theemulsion stream is, thoroughly agitated following theheating step so that emulsion treating chemicals which. may have been added are thoroughly mixed andincorporated into the. emulsion, whereby they may "exert? their; maximum 'ldene': -j m n-enact;

"Yet another object of the invention istoproiav vide an'iiiiproved emulsion treatingmeansofithe. charaeterdescribed' in which theemulsi'on under: ga s anjini'tial "washing step immediately; folea lowing the primary heating," both in: the heating, chamber and in the conduitleading to theturrf bule'nee'chamber, whereby a? partial initial sene. aration of the emulsified components.takesplace along'witli the considerable degreefofidegasificae tiohl A further object of the invention is toprovide a method and means off thelcharacter. de scribed in which the heated emulsion? stream passingtotheturbulence chamber acts asa heat: ing'f'rneans in passing upwardly. through. the. washing chamber of 'the treater' whereby a, considerable degree. of heat exchange andl main-.- tenance of temperature within the washing. chamber is realized."

"Afcbnstruction designed to carry out the invention "will be hereinafter described'together, with other features of the invention' The "invention will be more readily understood from a reading: of the following: specification andby reference "to the accompanyingjdraw-' ing's, wherein: examples of the" invention'are.. shown, and-'whereini Fig. 1 is a vertical, sectional view of an. emulsiontreater constructed in accordance? with this. invention and adapted to carry out. thisv method;

2 is a horizontal, cross-sectionahview; taken on the line 2-'-'-'2.-of'Fig 1, i

Fig; 3 'i's 'a"horizontal, cross-sectional View, taken on'the line3- -3' of- Fig. 1",'

Fi'g'. 415a vertical, sectional. view or, a modified form of the'emulsion treater; also. adapted;

to carry out this method,

Fig. 5 is a horizontal, cross-sectional, view taken on the line 5-5 of'Fig. 4; and.

'Fig. 6 is a horizontal, cross-sectional. view takeiion the linefi-B'of Fig. 4. In the drawings, the numeral In designates an upright emulsiontreater tank having a'domed upper end i lan'd a dished bottom I2. Theius'iia'l tank support i3 is provided at the. lower'ten'd-v of the tank Ill, andaclean outdrain Mleadsfronl the central portion of the dished bottom. 12;

In the lower portion of the tank immediately above the bottom ill, a heatingchamberfia is provided 'bythe positioning'oi a domedjpartition i5 spaced a short distance above the bottom' l2 The usual returnbend fire tube. 16 is provided 3 within the chamber A, but it is to be pointed out that any other suitable or desirable heatin means such as steam coils, indirect heaters, electrical heaters, and the like, may be employed in place of the fire tube It. An emulsion stream inlet pipe I! extends radially into the chamber A near the lower portion thereof and hasits open inner end terminating in a suitable spreader device l8 mounted immediately below the heater tube or fire tube It. The heating chamber A is normally full of hot water which has a greater average density than the incoming emulsion stream whereby the latter, upon admission to the spreader I8, is caused to flow upwardly around the heater tube It in the usual fashion. The emulsion stream is thus heated to the desired degree both by contact with the heater tube and by passage through the heated body of water present in the chamber A. The heater tube function to heat the emulsion stream and also to maintain sion will begin to separate in this section of the treater and at this step in the method. Of course, any desired means such as thermostatic controls (not shown) may be employed to regulate the degree of heating obtained from the fire tube I6.

A turbulence chamber B is provided in the upper end of the tank Ill beneath the head I I by the provision of a dished partition I!) spaced a short distance below said head. The provision of the head l9 also forms a large central washing chamber C between said partition and the lower partition [5. A relatively large flume 26 extends vertically through the central portion of the tank In so as to be substantially axially disposed with respect thereto, the flume extending from the uppermost portion of the chamber A through the partitions l5 and [9 to a point'within the upper'portion of the chamber B spaced a short distance below the top or head ll of the tank. Above the upper end of the flume 20, a gas scrubbing chamber is provided by means of a cylindrical housing 21 secured to the underside of the head H. The housing 2! is formed with a downwardly directed conical bottom 22 from which depends a circular, horizontal, deflector plate 23 immediately overlying the open upper of circular, disc-like bafiles 25 are mounted upon the exterior of the flume near its upper end and within the chamber'B, said baiiles being welded or otherwise suitably secured to the fiume and extending radially outwardly therefrom, but terminating short of the side wall of the chamber B. A circular plate baffle 26 is disposed between the pair of baflles 25, the baflle 26 being in the form of a disc-like element secured in any suitable fashion to the side wall of the chamber B and extending radially inwardly in a horizontal plane between'th bailles 25 and toward the upper portion of the fiume 20. An enlarged circular openin diameter than the fiume so that an annulus 28 is provided between the wall of the opening 21 and the outer periphery of said fiume. A spider 29 bridges the space between the outer wall of the flume and the body Of the plate 26 so as to center and support the upper end of the fiume concentrically with respect to the opening 21.

With this structure, the emulsion stream directed downwardly and outwardly by the plate 23 and the skirt; 24, is caused to flow over the upper surface of the upper plate in a radially outward direction, said stream falling from the outer edge of the plate 25 onto the plate 25 on which it must pass radially inward to the open ing 21. The emulsion stream then flows downwardly through the annulus 28, striking the lower baffle 25 and again flowing outwardly to pass over the outer edge of the latter plate and onto the partition 19 or into the lower portion of the chamber B. During this circuitous flow path, the

emulsion stream is obviously subjected to considerable turbulence so that emulsion treating chemicals which have previously been added, are thoroughly admixed and commingled with said stream so as to exert. their maximum eflicacy in breaking the emulsion being treated. At the same time, the turbulence and agitation achieved, in View of the heated condition of the emulsion stream, release substantially all desirable quan-' titles of gas therefrom whereby the residual emulsion is much more easily handled and treated. I

The released gas passes upwardly in the chamber B and enters into the housing 2! through suitable diverter baflles 30. In thehousing 2!, the gas is thoroughly scrubbed so as to move entrained liquids therefrom, and passesoutwardly through a gas vent pipe 3| connected through the head I! into the upper end of said housing. The removed liquids flow from the housing through a drain tube 32 into the lower portion of the chamber B and are thereby conserved and returned to the emulsion stream.

It is to be noted that in addition to the prelimi nary washing action effected upon the incoming emulsion stream in the heater chamber A, the stream will also be subjected to a washing action in the relativelyv large diameter fiume 2% A considerable portion of this fiume, and especially the lower portion thereof, will be filled at all times with a liquid consisting largely of heated water,

5 so that the emulsion stream, in passing upwardly ing 21 is provided at the central portion of the 1' plate 26, said opening being considerably greater through the flume, is washed and treated to a considerable extent whereby additional separation of the emulsified components takes place. At the same time, the hot emulsion stream flowing upwardly from the heater tube it will maintain the interior of the fiume 29 at a considerably elevated temperature whereby the flume functions to some extent as a heat exchanger and increases the temperature of the contents of th washing chamber C which surrounds said flume on all sides. Any heat radiated or conducted from the flume 2B is thus utilized in an advantageous manner and is not lost by being dissipated to the atmosphere.

T'he washing actions occurring in the heater chamber A and in the flume 2!], along with the thorough admixture of any treating chemicals within the chamber B and the degasification in the latter chamber, place the emulsion stream in a condition wherein sizable quantities of the emulsified components have separated, or will easily separate if allowed to settle for a short period. Such a settling period occurs in the manate lowennqrttonmf.theetunbulence:chamberrfliassthce emulsionestreamz:accumulates: 21th.: upper-isidezofjthe. ipantitlonel 9.: .-.nlacedzin dition dmwhichz urthee breakingeofethei mnl andrstratification ofathezzcomponents thereef n encouraged-1a:furthansi-zahle separationewilli-talre placenahthise pointaamtn xCQIEidEIZJblflidCEKQGEOf'.1. theidcsired:emulsiomtreafiifl ,will'ghaye been comepletedzbeforeethei stream passes intoi thesliwashingg chamber: (3-1. In suchz:nassaee;i... hemponents? areimt again emulsified andiseeleitheir r sn ctiwe levelsza'lmostimmediatelir.:aitereintroduction1into saidiwashingficlxamberz Thei-emulsiong.-streamiis;.conducted;.downwardly;- froma-the chambers-Bible smallera verticalifiumee 33 connected into one side of the partitiomj sand; extending-g; downwardly; to); point; within, the chambers-:0. spaced..:;ae;-short.-;distanceaboveather upper surfac e-.:=o-f.: thesilowe partitio 1 [5 .1 The? lowenpgrtion' of: thewashln hamber isjrnormally occupied bye-a1; body; orzhot .--;wa.-ter,,- usually; salt,: andzthei-partially treated emulsionstreamdsggthuse directed; into therlower pOI-bionrofisaid: body oi. water: Being ofl. lesser; densitygthan .the water; the emulsion stream fiowsupwardlwtherethrough: and isawashed. in,-.such passage isoaase to. complete: the emulsion treating. operation resulting-i in ."the:.

' separation of .-the' componentsof the-emulsion and their stratification into respective levels. To supplement. the treating and washing, action achieyemin the chamber C; a.- -haysection 3 4 is provided in the centralportion .of.-, said chamber. The. r hay section includes; asbody ofexcelsior; straw; or other. similar materials, 35. confined. betweerran. upper partition -36.-and a/lower. partition-13.7... The-upper partition .36; isspaced some distance belowrthespartition."l 9; while-,the. lower partition 311 is..-spaced a. similar distanceabove. the-lower partition. l5;. lttwill-bewnotedzthat.the down ilume 3 3 l extends belowfither lower.- partitionv 31 and is disposed in the leftehand rpontion;of=the tankaln asviewedin Fig 1f. Toi insureialonger and. more circuitous .fiow. ofltheemulsion stream" through the... washing water, the .left-hand. pore. tlonsofi the partition 31 .imperforate,.. while the. right-hand portion is provided with a plurality of, small, openings 38-through which .the, emulsion stream may new The .streamris'thuscausedlto. flow laterally across .the chamber. Cirbeneaththe partition .31 beforebeingallowed .tor flow upwardly in r manysmall. streams into-v the. hay section 3.4. For. thesame. purposes, .the right-,hand portion ofthe upper partition or. platev ,36-tis;-free oi.;open-- ings}. and. a plurality of. small openings ,39 are cut: in, the. left-hand portion-of, therlatter platec With this structure,-. the: emulsion stream, .intaddition to being forced to. flowethroughztherheight or thickness of the hay section, is 31SOTIBC1l1iI6d to flowtransverselythereof/ across-thebody-of the washing-chamber In this-manner; the washingz. action is: increased. 1 and. more eificient and complete -emulsionebreaking isachieved. Awater, drain: pipe, 31 extends downwardly from: the partition 31:

The separation :oithe emulsion. components is completed within v the washing; chamber. C, and thea-cleaneoil rpasses;upwardlwvvithinisaidchams ber--to:--the.-space=. above the upper; haysection partition: 36-;- while the removede water flows to. the;lo.wer. portion of the. chamber: gas which.- mayv have: been separatedgrisesr to. thespacer beneath; the" partition; la; and. -'unwardly through; a: gascriser-weinto th upper..no Jziorir ii the-turbulence;chamber'Btd-be?disposedroitalong withzthegas separated1in the latter chamber. A- 7 mined? oil leyel wi th' from; the; relativel chambemn intothe lowensection of thee-body :off

partition. l9..-:- serving; toi maintain: a predeterthe :chamherr; Thea res moved salt water: "is takerr 0ft from theebottomi and aconventionahwater leg flii which" upperiendaventedato h itu zbu en ee and ustomarnand e1rv s-tm m intai able-ibody of wa-shing ,watenwithinrzthe:lowerpor: tionsoithe-tchamlzie 0 Obviously;theswateielegra; 43. maybe :;vari;e .to sh t theelevel;:within:;thev

. washinsr chambcnrbut tsi -normale osmamtaina washingqwater pres ent yvithinthewashing: charm.- ber-Q, Theemulsion?stream flowing downwardly" through the fiume 33 -is .first1introduced: intonthe;

- chamber 'C by being" directed-into: this; heated-3 lower portion: ofthe; body ---of-,;' washing? water: Any-heat the emulsion stream may hZNBEIOSt-iil'l its massage through the upperportion: ofzithextreateris :thusrestored; and the cbreakingfiofr; the

- emulsion is completed 'in' an; efiicient 1; fashion,

By reasonof the--lower.partition; thethermor syphonic orconvection flow-of the washing waiter; immediately above the partition, I 5 Iis limited to: the:spacezbetweemsaid: partition ;and:the former partition 31.. Thus-as the-:emulsion-stream and;-. its componentspass-iupwa-rdly through 'th 'e-.;wash'-. ing; section, they incur increasingly-icooler.;zones: whereby whey-clean oil. which eventually reaches the portion -ofs;the. ,washingchamber-above the upper partition; 39 .-is at a.-, -ten' perature: attwhich-- it- .may economically 'be conducted It0.-.StOI &g8 Of.- course, it it 'is so -desired,., theaconventionale typeof. .heattexchanger. may be incorporated, into; the oil discharge line so as to cool'said oilby means of the incoming-emulsion.stream.andinraddition conseryethis heat. content .by; pre heating ofsthe. emulsion... stream-1 However. such. a structure. would only be... employed. for. reasons. of .economy since this method and means. by initially heat-e ing the. emulsion stream'before. any treatment stepsarevemployed. assures full and complete separation of the emulsion into its various comm ment The. flum .2B. a so.a ds.to me. xt nt. n main: taining a temperatureofjthewashing.watenwith; in .thechamberCi butitis pointedoutrthat. the. emulsionstreamin flowing upwardly throu hthe flume does not .heatthe body of clean oil1.at ,the. upper. endpoithe. chamber C. .to an. extent. .suffie cient to cause. undesirable results.

Inli'igs. 4, 5' and 6 is. illustrated amodificationof.-..this: method and: structure. whichissubstam, tially identical inamanyrespects .tQthatpreViOuse lydescribed; The-principal difierenceresides in the 7 structure of the. downwardly .directed flume 33'-which, in thermodificatiomis replacedibya relativelylargediameter; pipe 45 extendingzaxially of the treater tankand within-which the. upwardlydirected flumer- 20: is concentrically: disposed; Theupperend -;of the pipe:45.-is-connecte.d into a relatively 1 large opening; 4.6.; out in the centen of; thempper partition 4-1 which. otherwisegis se ame 0fl1tj11z311.IGSEGCljSgtOytl'lBfl-QPBPPELlYtitiQh l 9 pm} viously described; In: alL- other respects this modified; form of the invention .is- -.substantially over the upper surface of the hot partition I be fore passing upwardly into the hay section 34. This second form of the invention differs in operation from the first form principally in that heat dissipated from the flume 20 is absorbed directly by the downwardly directed emulsion stream flowing from the chamber B, rather than being transferred to the bod-y of liquid within the washing chamber C. The provision of the flange 48 also prolongs the flow of the emulsion stream in the vicinity of the relatively hot partition l5 which forms the upper end of the heating chamber A, the two heat exchange functions recited serving to further maintain the tempera? ture of the emulsion stream prior to its final washing step. In all other respects, the operation of said modification may be considered as substantially identical to that previously recited.

It is to be pointed out that in all the forms of the invention illustrated, the large central flume extending upwardly from a point immediately above the heater tube provides an additional advantage in the warming up of these treaters. It is sometimes necessary to shut a treater down for various reasons, and in cases where heavy oil is being handled, such oil has a'tendency to congeal, and considerable time is required to bring the treater back up to an operating temperature because the oil is viscous and resists convection flow. In the case of the present invention, the central flume is filled with water which will quick- 1y accept heat from the heater tube and thus act as an elongate central heating element which will accelerate the warming up of .the entire treater and greatly speed its return to an operating temperature.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof and various changes in. the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: r

1. The method of treating oil well emulsions which includes, first passing the emulsion stream through an initial heated washing zone containing a body of heated water the emulsion stream being passed in contact with said water, and therein heating the emulsion to its highest temperature, then elevating the emulsion in a segregated path through bodies of water and oil into a segregated zone and therein releasing gas, then carrying the emulsion downwardly through a degassing zone above all water zones without added heat and thoroughly agitating the emulsion back and forth to remove gas, then conducting upright tank having a heating and washing chamber at'its bottom, a heating-element in'the heating chamber, an exterior emulsion inlet to the" heating chamber, a turbulence chamber at the top of the tank, a washing chamber in the tank" between the heating and turbulence chambers adapted to hold liquids and sealed off from the' heating and washing chambers, a conductor leading continuously from the heating chamber through the washing chamber to an elevated point'in the turbulence chamber, a gas outlet from the turbulence chamber, a second conductor leading from the turbulence chamber to the washing chamber, an oil outlet from the washing chamber, and a water outlet from the washingchamber." 7

3. An emulsion treater as set forth in claim 2, wherein the conductors extend concentrically in heat exchange relation with one another.

4. An oil well emulsion treater including, a tank having a gas outlet at its top, a heating chamber at the bottom of the tank, a heating element in the heating chamber, an emulsion inlet to the heating chamber immersed in liquid in said chamber, a turbulence chamber at the top of the tank having a gas'space, a washing chamber in the tank between the heating and turbulence chambers sealed off from said chambers, an influent conductor separate from the emulsion inlet leading from the heating chamber through the washing chamber to an elevation in the turbulence chamber, a second conductor leading from the turbulence chamber to the bottom of the washing chamber, a water outlet leading from the lower end of the washing chamber above the heating chamber connected with the chamber.

6. An emulsion treater as set forth in claim 4, whereinthe baflles below the upper end of the infiuent conductor extend across the tank, one having its edges spaced from the annular wall of the tank and another below extending from the tank walls inwardly and having a central opening surrounding the infiuent flume.

7. An emulsion treater as set forth in claim 4, with a filter medium in the washing chamber through which the conductors extend.

8. An oil well emulsion treater including, an upright tank closed at its top and bottom and having a gas outlet at its top, a lower partition across the tank sealing off a heating chamber at the bottom of the tank having an influent inlet, an upper partition across the tank forming a turbulence chamber thereabove having a gas space at the top of the tank,'a washing chamber in the medial portion of the tank between the lower partition and the upper partition sealed off from the heating chamber, a down pipe from the turbulence chamber to the bottom portion of the washing chamber, the heating chamber being adapted to be filled with a body of water, a flume extending from the heating chamber through the washing chamber and into the turbulence chamber for conducting emulsion from the heating chamber through the washing chamber to the turbulence chamber and sealed off from the washing chamber, a water outlet from the lower portion of the washing chamber, an oil outlet from the upper portion of the washing chamber, and a heater in the heating chamber.

9. An oil well emulsion treater as set forth in claim 8, wherein the sole source of heat is in the heating chamber.

10. An oil well emulsion treater as set forth in claim 8, with bafliing elements in the turbulence chamber between the outlet of the flume and the inlet to the down pipe.

11. The method of treating oil well emulsions which includes, first passing the emulsion stream through an initial heated washing zone containing a body of heated water the emulsion stream being passed in contact with said water, and therein heating the emulsion to its highest temperature, then elevating the emulsion in a segregated path through bodies of water and oil into a segregated zone and therein releasing gas, then carrying the emulsion downwardly through a degassing zone above all water zones without added heat and thoroughly agitating the emulsion back and forth to remove gas by repeatedly spreading the emulsion stream in substantially horizontal layers, then conducting the emulsion in a segregated path downwardly through a second body of water of lower temperature than the washing zone and having no connection with said zone and discharging said emulsion into said second body of water and therein separating water from the emulsion, then conducting oil upwardly through said second body of water, releasing'water from said second body of water, and then carrying 01? the oil.

12. An emulsion treater as set forth in claim 4, wherein the baflles below the upper end of the influent conductor extend horizontally across the tank, one having its edges spaced from the annular wall of the tank and one having a central opening surrounding the influent flume.

CLARENCE O. GLASGOW.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,165,703 Holmes July 11, 1939 2,342,950 Lovelady et a1 Feb. 29, 1944 2,353,138 Beach July 11, 1944 2,366,302 Welch Jan. 2, 1945 2,384,222 Walker Sept. 4, 1945 

1. THE METHOD OF TREATING OIL WELL EMULSIONS WHICH INCLUDES, FIRST PASSING THE EMULSION STREAM THROUGH AN INITIAL HEATED WASHING ZONE CONTAINING A BODY OF HEATED WATER THE EMULSION STREAM BEING PASSED IN CONTACT WITH SAID WATER, AND THEREIN HEATED THE EMULSION TO ITS HIGHEST TEMPERATURE, THAN ELEVATING THE EMULSION IN A SEGREGATED PATH THROUGH BODIES OF WATER AND OIL INTO A SEGREGATED ZONE AND THEREIN RELEASING GAS, THEN CARRYING THE EMULSION DOWNWARDLY THROUGH A DEGASSING ZONE ABOVE ALL WATER ZONES WITHOUT ADDED HEAT AND THOROUGHLY AGITATING THE EMULSION BACK AND FORHT TO REMOVE GAS, THEN CONDUCTING THE EMULSION IN A SEGREGATED PATH DOWNWARDLY THROUGH A SECOND BODY OF WATER A LOWER TEMPERATURE THEN THE WASHING ZONE AND HAVING NO CONNECTION WITH SAID ZONE AND DISCHARGING SAID EMULSION INTO SAID SECOND BODY OF WATER AND THEREIN SEPARATING WATER FROM THE EMULSION, THEN CONDUCTING OIL UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID SECOND BODY OF WATER, RELEASING WATER FROM SAID SECOND BODY OF WATER, AND THEN CARRYING OFF THE OIL. 